About Infertility
Infertility is defined as no conception under the 2-year or more sex activities. About one in every seven couples has trouble of conceiving a child. Now they have turned back to the ancient art of acupuncture. The causes of male infertility commonly include the abnormality of sperm. The environmental pollutants, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and some prescription drugs are pathogens. Cell phone usage has also been implicated in the decline.
View of TCM
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), kidneys are responsible for all of growth and development, reproductive capacity and aging process. Infertility for both men and women almost always involves a deficiency of kidneys. By the way, infertility is also caused by the deficiency or disharmony of other organs as liver, heart, spleen. There exist several TCM patterns of disharmony: such as blood stagnation, cold entrapment, phlegm accumulation, excess heat, and so on.
(In western medicine, these pathologies are known as hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction, polycystic ovarian syndrome, luteal phase defect, and other syndromes and conditions that can make it difficult or impossible to conceive.)
Treatment of TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used to treat female and male infertility for thousands of years. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine treat the root causes of infertility, such as endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes, no ovulation, fibroid tumors, high prolactin levels, luteal insufficiency, positive anti-sperm antibody, thin uterine lining, and low sperm count and poor motility etc. Acupuncture commonly combines Chinese herbs and massage to strengthen effect.
1) Mechanism
TCM treats infertility by focusing on regulating the menstrual cycle and creating overall health of the body:
1. Increase the uterine blood flow to increase possibility of implantation
2. Regulate the fertility cycle until the embryo transfer date and prevent abnormal periods to improve the sex quality
3. Improve semen analysis (the quality and quantity) by strengthening the kidney and Increase vitality and libido
4. Relieve spasmodic tubes and improve the function of ovaries
5. Help relax the patient and treat the depression from infertility
6. Make better sleep, diet, energy level and weight loss.
2) Procedure
Patients are commonly treated for three to four months before an insemination. This period of treatment seems to have a therapeutic effect. Women are encouraged to receive acupuncture treatments pre and post embryo transfer. We suggest that the most effective fertility treatments should involve a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and traditional medical interventions. Typically most miscarriages occur within the first three months of pregnancy. Therefore, treatment of patients may often last through twelve weeks to help prevent miscarriage.
Acupuncture treatments can vary from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 20 treatments with Chinese medicine alone as the choice, for 3-12 months, with acupuncture and herbs as the routine therapy to treat the root causes of the infertility. Treatments for infertility usually involve coming between 1-2 treatments per week for 3-12 months depending on the case.
3) Effect
Pregnancy rate depends on the nature of the problem. Research shows that traditional Chinese medicine used alone achieves pregnancy rates of between 40-85%, and these rates can be higher when combined with Integrative Chinese and western medicine.